Device for cutting along curved edge of embroidered material



April 14, 1970 A. A. HElTzMAN DEVICE FOR CUTTING ALONG CURVED EDGE OF EMBROIIDEREDv MATERIAL ATTQQMEYS April '14, 1.970

A. A.r HEITZMAN DEVICE FOR CUTTING ALONG CURVED EDGE OF EMBROIDERED MATERIAL y Filed March 11, 1968 4 Sheets-Shea?l 2 w .I Il iw f f 7 w \H N/ WA H\ M/ w/m r|| U/ 1 ,w um

INVENTOR, Az F250 A. /lE/TZMAM -April 14, 1970 A. A. HElTzMAN 3,505,917

DEVICE FOR CUTTING ALONG GURVED EDGE OF EMBROIDERED MATERIAL Filed March 11. 1968 H 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 I f/d FIGA 1N VENTOR. FED 4. H5! TZMN F IG, 5

April 14, 1970 A. A. HEITZMAN 3,505;917

DEVICE FOR CUTTING ALONG CURVED EDGE OF EMBROIDERED MATERIAL Filed llarch l1, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

INVENTOR.

ALFRED A.v HEI TZ M411/ ATTQNE YS United States Patent() DEVICE FOR CUTIING ALONG CURVED EDGE OF EMBROIDERED MATERIAL Alfred A. Heitzman, 303 Park St.,

Moonachie, NJ. 07074 Filed Mar. 11, 1968, Ser. No. 712,115

v Int. Cl. B26d 5/00, 7/06 U.S. Cl. 83-72 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for continuously cutting textile material such as embroidered material having thickened scallops or curved patterns to separate the material along curved cutting lines includes a continuously rotating circular cutting knife which projects outwardly through a slot on a cutting table in a position to cut the material into two separate parts which are conveyed outwardly in separate feeding paths on each side of the knife by two separate roller sets, each including an upper and lower roller and an engagement roller carried on a slide which may be moved along from the other two to position the material therebetween. A feature of the invention is that the construction and arrangement of the roller sets is such that they operate to pull the material through the circular cutting knife from each side thereof in a manner insuring that the knife will cut the material over the curved outline of the scallops formed on the material in a uniform and even manner and without stopping `or damaging the material by cutting improperly. The device includes a thickness control gauge between which the fabric material is passed and which permits passage of the material without the raised scallop portion but not of the portions thereof which are thickened by the provision of the scallops which are formed such as by embroidering.

On the unfinished side, the lower roller arranged directly underneath the upper roller is constantly driven, but on the finished side the lower roller is driven through a magnetic clutch arrangement which stops the driving of this roller when the torque acting on the feed rollers and set on the magnetic clutch exceeds a predetermined amount. It is in this manner that the control of the tension on the fabric parts is made such that the material will feed through the feelers and to the knife in a uniform manner so that the cutting may be continuous around the curved edges of the formed scallops.

SUMMARY F THE INVENTION This invention relates in general to fabric cutting devices and in particular to a new and useful device for cutting a textile material alongva curved wave-shaped line formed at the edges of thickened embroidered portions or scallops and for controlling the feed of the material being cut away from the remainder portion to insure precise cutting along the scallop edge. `Attempts have been made prior to the present invention to provide machines which would automatically cut material along a continuous wave-shaped line, but such machines have not been too successful because the feeding mechanism is not adequate for insuring that the cutting proceeds precisely andaccurately .and without damage to the materials or jamming of the operating machinery. In order that the material be guided in respect to a cutting knife, it is necessary that the material be fed with variations of tension on each side of the cutting line in order that the knife may be moved inwardly and outwardly over the wave cutting line to be effected. In order to provide a variation of the advance of the fabric which is cut away from the fabric which remains, feed roller sets have been employed on each side of the rotary cutting knife and a movable sensing lever has been used to contact the fabric and sense the tension in the fabric on each side of the cutting knife and to discontinue feeding of one set of the rollers whenever the tension of this set exceeded a predetermined limit as set by iixed spring elements. Machines using such devices do not operate satisfactorily because the control mechanism for sensing and then discontinuing the feed of a set of feed rollers does not operate with sufficient regularity and precision to permit the accurate aligning `of the fabric being cut and the feeding of such fabric at a substantial operating speed. ln addition, it is very diflicult to align the fabric for feeding between an upper and lower set of feed rollers and to reposition the fabric whenever the feeding of one side or the other proceeds unsatisfactorily because of the constant variations of tension of the parts being fed.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a rotatable round cutter scallop cutting machine with a set of feed rollers arranged at the end of the feeding table on each side of the rotatable cutting knife for feeding the teXtile material through the knife with a precise control of the tension of the fabric being fed to insure that the knife will cut into the material along the edge of a raised scallop portion as the feeding progresses. The table carries a gauge which will insure that the thickened material ofthe textile sheet of the area of the raised scallop embroidery formed thereon will not feed into the knife. The roller set on one side of the knife provides a steady and even constantl pull on the remainder portion of the fabric and the roller set on the opposite side of the knife provides a tension controlled pull to cause the fabric to be advanced so that the knife will move to cut along the wavy line directly adjacent the scallop.

A feature of the invention is the accessibility of the feeding mechanism and the ease with which the material may be engagedwith the feed mechanism. The material to be cut is positioned on the table and the first few inches thereof cut away by movement of the material by hand past the circular cutter as it is rotated. The separated portions of the material are separately directed downwardly over the edge of the table over separate sets of upper and lower rollers mounted at the table edge on each side of the cutter and merely draped over these rollers. Drive engagement rollers contained on a movable slide member are moved with the slide member to engage the drive engagement roller over the fabic an with both the upper and lower rollers. In each of the roller sets, only the lower roller is driven 4by its own electric motor. On the side which feeds the cut away fabric strip, the lower roller is driven by its motor through a magnetic clutch which is set to drive only when the driving torque is below a certain predetermined amount, and if it is not, no drive will be'elfected so that the material will not tear. The continued rotation of the cutter will rapidly change the tension on the material so that the drive of the lower roller will be immediately resumed to maintain the cutter along the thickened scallop edge.

The roller sets on each side are also provided with means for biasing the upper rollers into a positon in which it engages with the drive engagement rollers but which permits its backward movement in the event that the tension becomes excessive. A further control of the sensitive tension feeding of the two sides of the textile material is achieved finally by the drive engagement rollers which are biased into engagement with the upper and lowerY rollers over the fabric under the urging of an adjustable biasing means carried on a movable slide for these rollers.

With the inventive construction the textile material may be easily positioned for the cutting operation and the cutting operation may be started and stopped Without any diiiiculty. In addition, because of the accessability of the feed rollers and the ease with which the engagement rollers may be disengaged simply by shifting a slide, adjustment may be made in respect to the feed of each roller set and also in respect to the tension which is maintained on the fabrics which are passed on the cut-away side of the rotatable knife. The individual adjustments of the upper roller and the drive engagement roller of each set also permit a setting so that there will be no danger of the material being cut improperly.

Accordingly it is an object of the invention to provide a device for feeding a textile material past a cutter in a manner such that the material will be cut along a wavy line alongside a thickened embroidered portion, and wherein means are provided for pull-feeding the fabric through diverging paths on each side of the cutting knife in a manner to maintain a predetermined tension on the material at least on one side being cut away from the remainder of the material.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device for feeding textile materials which include first and second sets of rollers arranged in advance of a rotatable cutting knife in a position to pull two pieces of fabric past the knife and to maintain a tension on each portion as the fabric is being cut and wherein at least one of the roller sets is driven through a magnetic clutch which may be set to stop the drive of the roller of this set in order to permit a relaxing of the tension and to immediately restart the drive when the tension returns to a predetermined amount.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device Ifor cutting textile fabric materials having thickened scallop formations thereon along a wavy line directly adjacent the edge of the thickened scallop which includes feeler means associated with the knife for preventing the thickened portion to pass through the knife and first and second rollers arranged on each side of the knife to pull the material through the gauge and into association with the knife, said roller sets including upper and lower rollers, one of which is rotatable, and a drive engaging roller which is movable to engage over the fabric draped over the upper and lower rollers and to advance the fabric through the knife.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device for cutting along the edges of scallops of textile materials which is simple in design, rugged in construction and economical to manufacture.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its use, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective View of a machine for cutting material along a curved line constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic top perspective view indicating the feed roller arrangement and drive for the cutting machine;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view, partly broken away, of a scallop cutting machine;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial front elevational view of the machine with one of the feed engaging rollers removed;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial elevational and partial sectional view showing the slide mount for the feed engagement rollers;

` 4 FIG. 6 is an end elevational View showing the interengagement of the feed engaging rollers with the upper and lower feed rollers; and

FIG. 7 is a section taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawings in particular, the invention embodied therein comprises a scallop cutting machine generally designated 10 (FIG. 1) whichA includes a base portion 12 and a table portion 14 over which a textile material 16 having thickened embroidered areas or scallops 18 and thin portions or base portions 20 are positioned. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the textile material is to be cut such that remainder portions 16a and cut-away portions or finished strips 16b are formed. Each finished strip 16b includes a single raised scallop portion 18 and a single thin portion 20. The table portion 14 is provided with a hinged end section 14a (FIGS. l and 3) which may be pivoted on a hinge 24 to open the table top and expose a mounting block 26 for a rotatable cutting knife or lround cutter 28 which is rotatably supported on a spindle 30 mounted on the block 26 and driven through a pulley 32 and belt 34 by Van electric motor 36.

The cutter 28 projects upwardly through a slot 38 defined in the portion 14a of the table top 14 and the material 16 is advanced to the cutter after it is first moved between feelers 40 and 42 (see FIGS. 1 and 4) which dene an opening 44 of a dimension sufficient to permit passage of only the thinner material of the portions 20 of the fabric 16 and not the thickened scallop portion 18.

The gap 44 may be adjusted by rotating a knob 46 carried on a bracket 48 to cause a shifting of the top feeler 40.

In accordance with the invention, the material 16 is advanced (pulled) past the rotating knife 28 by two sets of feed rollers generally designated 50 and 52, at least one of which includes means for regulating the tension of the material being fed on each side of the knife. In the embodiment illustrated, only the roller set 52 is provided with means for precisely regulating the torque on the feed roller so that an accurate control of the feed tension of the piece of the material portion 16b is made. However, each roller set 50 and 52 includes means permitting the slip of the roller feed in case the tension on the fabric exceeds a predetermined amount. In some instances it is desirable to also provide both roller sets with means for precisely controlling the tension on this side of the knife.

'Each of the feed roller sets 50 and 52 includes three rollers, namely lower rollers 54 and 54', respectively, upper rollers 56 and 56', respectively, and feed engagement rollers 58, 58', respectively. The upper roller 56, 56' 0f the respective sets are carried on supporting arms 60, 60', respectively, which are rotatable on bearings 61, 61' of drive shafts 62, 62', respectively. A crank 64, 64', respectively (see FIG. 5), carried on the arms 60, 60 is provided with an opening through which a bolt 66, 66 extends. A spring 68 around the bolt 66 biases the crank 64 together with the associated arm 60 to an outer driving position, but the arm 60, together with its associated roller 56, may move inwardly when the tension on the fabric being fed exceeds the holding force of the biasing spring 68.

As best seen in FIG 3 in respect to the roller set 52, the feed engagement roller or drive roller 58 is carried on an arm 70', the opposite end of which is pivoted on a block 7 2 which is carried on a slide generally designated 74. The slide 74 includes a lower portion having two sets of vertically arranged roller bearings 76 and 78 which rollably engage on vertically spaced and horizontally extending guide rods 80 and 82, respectively, which are mounted in a block 84 carried on the base 12. A coil spring 86 engaged over the rod 82 biases the slide 74 to an outer non-operative position at which the drive or engagement roller 58' is disengaged from the fabric and each of the upper roller 56 and the lower roller 54'. A hand engagement lever 88 extends upwardly from the slide 74 for grasping by the operators hand, and the slide 74 may be moved inwardly to cause locking engagement of a latch lever 90 on a latch 92 carried on the rod 80. In the latched or engaged position, the upper rollers 56, 56 and the lower rollers 54, 54' Iwill be engaged by the respective engagement rollers 58, 58 which bear over the material 16 and against these rollers as indicated in FIG. 6. The tension at which the engagement rollers 58, 58 bear against their associated upper and lower rollers 56, 56 and 54, 54 may be regulated by regulating the force on spring members 94 and 96 (FIG. 5) which bear against the arm 70 and which may be adjusted by rotation of an adjustment knob 98.

The handle 88 is provided with a control button 89 which may be depressed to cause the latching lever 90 to rock about its pivot 91 against the force of a counter spring 93 to permit disengagement of the latching lever 90 from the latch 92.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, not only are the feed rollers adjustable in respect to the biasing force which permits the backward movement and disengagement of the upper rollers 56 of each roller set and the adjustment of the tension for the arms 70 carrying the engagement rollers 58, but the feed is also adjustable in respect to the drive of at least one of the lower rollers 54, 54. In the embodiment illustrated, the drive of the lower roller 54' of the roller set 52 is such that the tension on the finished material 20 which is being fed thereby will not exceed a certain value. This is advantageously provided on the side which is being cut away from the portion 16a because in this manner it has been found that better control may be obtained in respect to the direction of travel of the knife over the fabric to cut precisely adjacent the edge of the raised scallop portion over the wavy cutting line.

A further important feature of the present invention is that the drive to the roller 54 is connected so that continuous rotation of the roller 54 will be effected to also drive the fabric and the rollers 58 and 56 only when the tension on the fabric does not exceed a predetermined set value. In order to set the prescribed value, it is only necessary to make an adjustment of an electrical control on a commercially available magnetic clutch generally designated 100 such as by actuating a knob control 102 on a sidewall of the base 12. Magnetic clutches of a suitable type are ones which are commercially available under the name Magtrol sold by Tranco Associates Inc., Long Island, New York. The roller 54 is driven by a motor 104 driving through a pulley 105, belt 106 and pulley 107 to an input shaft 108 of the clutch 100. Clutch 100 is provided with an output shaft 110 which drives a pulley 112, a belt 114, and a pulley 116 to rotate the drive shaft 62 for the roller 54. Thus, when the material being fed by the roller set 52 is excessively tensioned by the feeding because, for example, the knife is moving over the wave-shaped cutting line from the outer curved edge inwardly at which the tension increases greatly and there is a tendency for the knife to cut into the thickened scallop material, the magnetic clutch 100 will permit brief stoppage of the output shaft 110 until the cutter 28 continues to cut to reduce the tension on the portion 16b to permit resumption of the feed.

A speed control 128 is provided for operating a variable speed motor 130 which drives through suitable speed'control or clutching means 132, a pulley 134, belt 136 and a pulley 138 affixed to a shaft 140 carrying the roller 54. In the arrangement indicated, the roller 54 of the roller set 50 is usually driven at a constant rotatable speed, but the means 132 may provide for disengagement upon exceeding of a certain torque as well as speed regulation as desired.

The operation of the device is as follows:

'I'he textile material 16 is positioned over the table `14 and an initial length of material is fed through the opening 44 defined between the feelers 40 and 42 and guided by hand into association with a knife 28 until a suiiicient length of material is fed to permit the material to be fed over the surface of the respective upper and lower roller sets 50 and 52. At this stage, the lever 88 controlling the slide 74 is positioned in a disengaged position so that the engagement rollers 58 of each roller set are disengaged from its associated upper and lower rollers (see FIG. 5). After the fabric is positioned as indicated in FIG. 5, the slide 74 is moved inwardly by grasping the lever 88 until the latch lever 90 engages over the fixed latch 92. In this position, the engaging rollers 58, 58' will be engaged over the fabric and the associated upper and lower rollers of the respective roller sets. The force or tension of the engagement may be adjusted as desired by the knob 98 which regulates the springs 94, 96 and the biasing of the engagement rollers against the material 16 and over a portion of the upper and lower rollers. The engagement roller 58 engages with a closer engagement tolerance with the upper roller 56 than it does with the lower roller 54, but the upper roller 56 may move backwardly against its biasing spring 68 during operation in the event that the feeding tension becomes uneven during the normal feeding of the fabric and the cutting of the curved line adjacent the edge of the raised scallop portion 18. The roller set S2 which is to drive the strip of material 22 which is being cut away is driven by its motor 104 in a manner to drive the material 22 so that the cutter 28 will travel upwardly and downwardly over the curved areas without cutting into the thickened scallop 18. This is achieved by setting the magnetic clutch 10 with the control 102 so that the feed will be discontinued whenever the tension increases to an extent at which there is danger that the knife 28 will cut into the scallop portion 18. This arrangement in conjunction with the feelers 40 and 42 arranged before the knife 28 will insure the even and continuous feeding of the fabric 16 through the cutter to cut away a complete strip of material 16b rapidly and continuously.

In some instances minor adjustments may have to :be made in respect to the tension of the engagement rollers 58, 58 in order to insure satisfactory safety of operation and feeding without any destruction of the material being cut. The control afforded not only by the backward movement of the upper rollers but by the tension control of the engagement rollers S8, 58 and also of the feed control for the lower roller 54 permits precise feeding control of the fabric material and its efficient and fast cutting. The mounting of the engagement rollers 58, 58' on a slide which may be moved into or out of engagement with the counter feed rollers of each set permits the easy initial feeding of the fabric material and the rapid placement of the two separable parts 12 and 22 into and out of association with the feeding mechanism. The arrangements of the exposed upper and lower feed rollers at the edge of the table also permits adjustment of the fabric position, tensioning of the fabric, etc. with a minimum of disturbance to the operation of the machine parts, and in a manner permitting easy manipulation by the operator.

The apparatus also includes a guide bar 200 which may be used for orientirig the fabric 16 for feeding downwardly onto the table 14. The fabric 16 is indicated in FIG. l as only resting on the table 14, but normally it would be fed over the bar 200 which may be oriented at any angle and at any height in order to facilitate feeding. The bar 200 is supported on a central bar 202 which is supported on a pivot (not shown) which'comprises a member having a bore which is mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis. The bar 202 may be slid into and out of the bore in order to adjust the height of the feeding bar 200 and it may be rotated about a vertical axis to adjust one angle of deposition of the feeding bar 200. AIn addition, the member (not shown) which defines the bore may be rotated so that the bar 200 may be inclined in a side to side direction. In this manner it is possible to bring the fabric into the machine at any angle.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for cutting textile materials along a waveshaped edge formed at the edge of a thickened scallop formation on the material, comprising a movable cutter, means to move said cutter for cutting material, feeding means for moving the material to be cut located behind said cutter in the direction of feed and including a first roller set on one side of said cutter and a second roller set on the opposite side of said cutter, each of said first and second roller sets including at least one feed roller over which the respective portions of the cut-away material and the remaining material is directed after it is cut by said cutter and an engagement roller engaged over the material in driving engagement with said feed roller, rst driving means connected to at least one of Said feed roller and said engagement roller of said first roller set to rotate the connected roller and to drive the material, and second driving means connected to at least one of said feed roller and said engagement roller of said second roller set to rotate the connected roller and to drive the material, said second driving means includingr a driving motor and clutch means connected between said driving motor and said roller which is driven thereby, said clutch means being disengageable to stop the drive of the roller when the torque acting on said roller exceeds a predetermined amount.

2. A device according to claim 1, including a table over which the material is fed having a slot therein through which said cutter extends, and means mounting said feed roller of each of said first and second roller sets in a position underlying one edge of said table to permit the cut-away material and the remaining material to be fed over the table and to engage over said feed roller of respective first and second roller sets.

3. A device according to claim 1, wherein there are an upper feed roller and a lower feed roller, said engagement roller being engageable over portions of the periphery of each of said upper and lower feed rollers.

4. A device according to claim 3, including means mounting said upper feed roller for pivotal movement in a direction opposite to the feed direction to relax the tension on the material being fed and means biasing said upper feed roller in the direction of feed.

5. A device according to claim 1, wherein each of said first and second roller sets includes means for biasing said engagement roller in a direction toward said feed roller and means for adjusting said biasing means.

6. A device according to claim 1, including a slide carrying said engagement roller of said first and second roller sets and means mounting said slide for movement toward and away from said feed roller to position said engagement roller for engagement and disengagement with the respective feed rollers.

7. A device according to claim 6, wherein said slide includes a latching lever, a hand engagement lever connected to said latching lever for pivoting said latching lever, a fixed latch engageable with said latching level when said slide is in an operative position to hold said engagement rollers in a position in which they engage over the fabric material and the associated feed rollers, and means carried by said hand engagement lever for releasing said latching lever from said latch to release said slide for movement to an outward non-operative position.

8. A device according to claim 1, wherein said first driving means, said seconddriving means and said means for moving said cutter comprises separate driving motors foreach.

9. A device for cutting textile materials along a waveshaped edge formed along a thickened scallop or ornamentation on the material, comprising a table over which the material is fed having a slot therein, a circular cutter projecting through the slot of said table, a feeler gauge associated with said circular cutter permitting feed of material to the cutter but preventing feed of the thickened scallop portion thereof, means for rotating said cutter, said table having a front edge over which the material to be cut is fed away from said cutter, first and second roller sets mounted on said table adjacent the edge thereof on respective sides of said cutter, each of said first and second roller sets including a lower driven feed roller and an upper feed roller, said upper and lower feed rollers being located adjacent the edge of said table and being arranged to permit the material which remains and the material which is cut away therefrom to be draped over the respective upper and lower feed rollers of said corresponding roller sets, each of said feed roller sets also including an engagement roller engageable over the material with each of said upper and lower rollers of the corresponding roller sets, drive means for driving the lower roller of each of said sets, and torque control means connected to each of said roller sets for discontinuing the rotation and drive of said roller sets whenever the tension on the material being fed exceeds an amount to produce a torque of over a predetermined value.

10. A device according to claim 9, wherein said torque control means includes an electrical driving motor connected to said feed roller for rotating said roller and electric clutch means connected between said driving motor and said feed roller and discontinuing drive from said driving motor to said feed roller whenever the torque acting on said feed roller exceeds a predetermined amount.

11. A device according to claim 9, including means biasing said engagement roller into association with each of said upper and lower feed rollers and means connected to said biasing means for regulating the amount of said biasing means. j

12. A device according to claim 9, including a slide movable in directions toward and away from said upper and lower feed rollers of each of said first and second roller sets, said engagement rollers of said first and second roller sets being carried on said slide and being movable therewith between positions in engagement with said upper and lower rollers and disengagement located at a spaced location therefrom.

13. A device according to claim 9, including means mounting said upper rollers permitting movement in a direction towards said cutter, and means biasing said rollers in a direction away from said cutter.

14. A device according to claim 9, including a bar over which the fabric may be fed located adjacent the rear of said table and means mounting said bar to permit it to be shifted an elevation and angle of orientation in respect to said table.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,959,079 ll/1960 Tscherne 83--910X 2,992,579 7/1961 Kleger 83-910 X JAMES M. MEISTER, Primary Examiner 

